Ravenloft: Stone Prophet - A Damned Good Masterpiece

[PrettyDeadman]

Is playing through the Stahd Possession worth it? I heard every enemy in it is a level draining undead.

 

[Cryomancer]

I heard every enemy in it is a negative level on touch undead.

I believe that there is protections against it on both games.

But I prefer the STrahd game only cuz I don't like deserts.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Is this the one with the 'die by my blade, mortal' soundbite for one of the enemy mobs? (scorpion driders or something?)

Wasn't that Anvil of Dawn?
It was Minotaur.

 

[Ysaye]

Is playing through the Stahd Possession worth it? I heard every enemy in it is a level draining undead.

The first few dungeons there is no level draining (more poison you have to worry about). from slightly before mid way there are a number of creatures that can level drain including Vampires, Wights, Spectres, Zombie Golems and then finally a Vampire Lord them self. Negative Plane protection goes a fair way to protecting you and you get lots of magic throwing weapons which help take them out from a distance.

I thought it was a worthwhile game, although the graphics are no really old.

 

[GreyViper]

Is playing through the Stahd Possession worth it? I heard every enemy in it is a level draining undead.

Oh its definitely worth it, as mentioned the level draining mobs appear later and are easy to deal with returning weapons and spells. Negative Plane protection helps, just need to remember recasting it.
Otherwise, the setting and the village of Barovia gives a nice eerie atmosphere.

 

[Sinatar]

I heard every enemy in it is a negative level on touch undead.

I believe that there is protections against it on both games.

But I prefer the STrahd game only cuz I don't like deserts.

The only protection in Strahd's Possession is Negative Plane Protection. Negative Plane Protection protects your character for exactly 1 hit, then it's gone. The only real protection against level drain in Strahd is save scumming.

Also Strahd's dungeon design is nonsense. Almost every key item required to progress is behind an illusionary wall, but you don't get high enough for true sight in that game, so you have to face hump every wall in the game (or look at a guide) to progress through the game. There's also multiple instances where they force an NPC on you to progress which forces you to kick a party member out and transfer all their inventory to the new person, who will be with you for one whole dungeon (if that) before they leave and you have to go hunt down your old party member, re-recruit them and go pick up all your items again.

Stone Prophet fixes all of these issues and is a *far* superior game.

 

[Cryomancer]

Almost every key item required to progress is behind an illusionary wall, but you don't get high enough for true sight in that game, so you have to face hump every wall in the game (or look at a guide) to progress through the game. There's also multiple instances where they force an NPC on you to progress which forces you to kick a party member out and transfer all their inventory to the new person, who will be with you for one whole dungeon (if that) before they leave and you have to go hunt down your old party member, re-recruit them and go pick up all your items again.

Stone Prophet fixes all of these issues and is a *far* superior game.

Nice point.

But I disagree about not going far enough to get true seeing. IMO you need to be many steps behind teh dark lord on ravenloft. If Strahd is a 16th level necromancer(Domains of Dread), he can cast 8th tier magic and you should be limited to 6. Of course, true seeing should be included as a one time usage scroll, but you got my point. On P&P, mid level undeads are truly nasty enemies since they can drain levels and you can't save scum on P&P.

Sure, forced companions on the first game was bad, but stone prophet also lacks any magical companion. If you din't created a mage, you will have to beat the game with no magical support. But by other side, allows more spells and allows more unique companion races like desert trolls.

 

[santino27]

Is this the one with the 'die by my blade, mortal' soundbite for one of the enemy mobs? (scorpion driders or something?)

Wasn't that Anvil of Dawn?

I don't know... I remember playing a game in the mid-90s (which was when I played Stone Prophet) with that bark in it. Anvil of Dawn came out in 95 so I may have conflated the two.

 

[Pink Eye]

Is playing through the Stahd Possession worth it? I heard every enemy in it is a level draining undead.

Yeah. It's worth it. Strahd's Possession is good. The Count is a memorable villain. The music is amazing. However, some of the dungeons are pretty annoying. Elven Crypt was a nightmare for me to play. Teleporters and Spinners galore! But it's not so bad, if you have the Cluebook to guide you.

 

[Pink Eye]

I heard every enemy in it is a negative level on touch undead.

I believe that there is protections against it on both games.

But I prefer the STrahd game only cuz I don't like deserts.

The only protection in Strahd's Possession is Negative Plane Protection. Negative Plane Protection protects your character for exactly 1 hit, then it's gone. The only real protection against level drain in Strahd is save scumming.

Also Strahd's dungeon design is nonsense. Almost every key item required to progress is behind an illusionary wall, but you don't get high enough for true sight in that game, so you have to face hump every wall in the game (or look at a guide) to progress through the game. There's also multiple instances where they force an NPC on you to progress which forces you to kick a party member out and transfer all their inventory to the new person, who will be with you for one whole dungeon (if that) before they leave and you have to go hunt down your old party member, re-recruit them and go pick up all your items again.

Stone Prophet fixes all of these issues and is a *far* superior game.

Yeppers. Stone Prophet is huge upgrade compared to Strahd's Possession. The dungeons are so much better.

 

[Nikanuur]

...The 1.10 version which is supplied by GoG - suffers from a black screen crash if you use the Scroll of Return; there were a couple of other bugs too. Ah well. No awesome ending cinematic for me!...

Here you go, oh fellow Stone Prophet lover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT_IANCqSQQ

 

[Pink Eye]

...The 1.10 version which is supplied by GoG - suffers from a black screen crash if you use the Scroll of Return; there were a couple of other bugs too. Ah well. No awesome ending cinematic for me!...

Here you go, oh fellow Stone Prophet lover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT_IANCqSQQ

Thank you so much!

Sadly Lord Dhelt himself didn't congratulate the party like he did in Strahd's Possession. Also the beautiful ghost song in ending credits brings a tear to my eye. I didn't know the kid got an extended dialogue, that's cool. I remember he had a quest that you do for him in gypsy village but it's been a while now since I last played. Also that satisfying feeling of leaving Barovia or Har Akir through magic portal back to home, is so nice. I do wish these games were a bit harder to really drive home how evil and unwelcoming Barovia or Har Akir are

 

[Cryomancer]

IS truth that doing a completionist run in Strahd possession + a completionist run in this game can allow you to reach lv 14 as an magic user?

 

[Theldaran]

Yes, yes it's a masterpiece. At the time I couldn't get a hold of Strahd's Possession, and now I can't get into it.

The last time I beat Stone Prophet was during the pandemic in 2020. Like OP, the ending sequence bugged out. No matter how many times I play, I always run into problems with the Seal quarters. At last minute I realised I had my missing quarter just outside Ankhtepot's room.

It was an amazing effort for the time, and leaves me wondering why the same approach couldn't be replicated now.

About combat, I click on the weapon icons, not the monsters. When a weapon hits, it will tell you in the same icon how much damage it deals. Likewise, when you miss, you get a message at the bottom of the screen.

It was an amazing adventure for a 13 year old guy. I was pretty obsessed with the game. Now I think I dream sometimes of Ankhtepot (I recall some demon inside of a pyramid or something).

 

[Theldaran]

IS truth that doing a completionist run in Strahd possession + a completionist run in this game can allow you to reach lv 14 as an magic user?

Er, I think that there's level limit per race. Such a hated rule. But yes, you should reach about that level. I recall there's at least until level 6 spells if not 7 (but probably 6).

PS: "die by my blade, mortal" is indeed the battle cry of Scorpion Men in this game.

 

[Pink Eye]

Now I think I dream sometimes of Ankhtepot (I recall some demon inside of a pyramid or something).

Yeah yeah, me too. Aw man. The story for this was interesting as heck. Ankhtepot, the dreamer, during his human years was murdered during his sleep - memory is foggy but I think it was cause he committed the blasphemy of cheating death. Then sealed into a tomb. However, he wasn't the one who was causing the plague that turns people into sand, or other misfortunes. It was actually a Priest that was responsible for it. And the only way to soothe the Priest's wrath is to lead Ankhtepot to him. I just thought that twist of the Priest being the bad guy was so wild.

Though I always wondered who it was that taunts your party during dungeonerring. There's like a voice every so often that says riddles and such which serve to insult your party. Similar to Count Strahd laughing at the party's feeble attempts while exploring Village of Barovia.

About combat, I click on the weapon icons, not the monsters. When a weapon hits, it will tell you in the same icon how much damage it deals. Likewise, when you miss, you get a message at the bottom of the screen.

Thanks! I didn't know. I got so accustomed to Strahd's Possession giving me visual feedback, like enemies will flinch or some such when getting attacked; that I completely overlooked that.

 

[Nikanuur]

Just horrible. Can't use bows as Cleric/Ranger, can't seem to choose any other character. Not that there aren't any, but I don't like. Also, devs should buy brains - if you can draw 25 face pictures, you can do face generator for players instead?! I must choose preselected faces, this has been an instant let-down since forever. Then, the game starts, and there is a mindless 15-minute walk to nowhere, characters die all the time, and there is some nonsense about red horizon or whatnot. What is the red horizon!? It made me start the game 5x ffs!! Then, some old, sagging lady finally tells me something very important that I instantly forget from all the frustration! How can this be a good game? Yes, the graphics are nice (for an evening children's fairytale), but the combat is odd (clicking on small weapon icons rather than large ones)?! I played for only 155 hours. Totall miss. Instant refund. I hate on every server. Why are the devs sleeping, they have never patched the combat until today!? It's still being sold on GoG like this?! √(±1÷10)³

 

[Pink Eye]

Just horrible. Can't use bows as Cleric/Ranger, can't seem to choose any other character. Not that there aren't any, but I don't like. Also, devs should buy brains - if you can draw 25 face pictures, you can do face generator for players instead?! I must choose preselected faces, this has been an instant let-down since forever. Then, the game starts, and there is a mindless 15-minute walk to nowhere, characters die all the time, and there is some nonsense about red horizon or whatnot. What is the red horizon!? It made me start the game 5x ffs!! Then, some old, sagging lady finally tells me something very important that I instantly forget from all the frustration! How can this be a good game? Yes, the graphics are nice (for an evening children's fairytale), but the combat is odd (clicking on small weapon icons rather than large ones)?! I played for only 155 hours. Totall miss. Instant refund. I hate on every server. Why are the devs sleeping, they have never patched the combat until today!? It's still being sold on GoG like this?! √(±1÷10)³

I think reading the manual is important. The reason why you're dying while walking is cause of the water drinking mechanic, it's tedious, but the manual explains it and how to bypass it. Having waterskins and water spell from cleric helps. As to lack of direction. Try reading the cluebook. It gives good direction. If you just started. I recommend heading about west to an old well. That's where you find the first dungeon. It's pretty fun. Of course getting to the old seer is important. Though I don't remember if she reveals the prophecy or if the Stone Prophet does. The Stone Prophet is a giant stone wall with hieroglyphics that you need to translate.

 

[Nikanuur]

Just horrible. Can't use bows as Cleric/Ranger, can't seem to choose any other character. Not that there aren't any, but I don't like. Also, devs should buy brains - if you can draw 25 face pictures, you can do face generator for players instead?! I must choose preselected faces, this has been an instant let-down since forever. Then, the game starts, and there is a mindless 15-minute walk to nowhere, characters die all the time, and there is some nonsense about red horizon or whatnot. What is the red horizon!? It made me start the game 5x ffs!! Then, some old, sagging lady finally tells me something very important that I instantly forget from all the frustration! How can this be a good game? Yes, the graphics are nice (for an evening children's fairytale), but the combat is odd (clicking on small weapon icons rather than large ones)?! I played for only 155 hours. Totall miss. Instant refund. I hate on every server. Why are the devs sleeping, they have never patched the combat until today!? It's still being sold on GoG like this?! √(±1÷10)³

I think reading the manual is important. The reason why you're dying while walking is cause of the water drinking mechanic, it's tedious, but the manual explains it and how to bypass it. Having waterskins and water spell from cleric helps. As to lack of direction. Try reading the cluebook. It gives good direction. If you just started. I recommend heading about west to an old well. That's where you find the first dungeon. It's pretty fun. Of course getting to the old seer is important. Though I don't remember if she reveals the prophecy or if the Stone Prophet does. The Stone Prophet is a giant stone wall with hieroglyphics that you need to translate.

It was a joke!

Referring to nowadays culture.
---
I love Stone Prophet. I've never finished it (still retaining the old saves). Damn... I should've included more clues
Also, reading your response, I cannot help but to salute to your calm demeanor.